International eGift Cards: How To Approach Global Incentive Programs

🔎 Article at a glance:

🌐 Digital gift cards that work internationally are one of the easiest ways to deliver rewards and payouts to global audiences. 

 🙅 BUT, there's more complexity to sending digital gift cards to people in different countries than you might think. 

💡 If your program relies on bulk digital gift cards and you're expanding internationally, your best bet is a trusted, transparent gift card platform with a global catalog. 

💁 Look for one with flexible currency options, along with experience sending rewards to multiple regions.

Sending international eGift cards isn't as straightforward as you might think.

Yes, it’s technically easy to click a button and send some digital rewards to a global audience.

But that doesn’t mean you can expect those digital rewards to actually work.

Currency differences, regional restrictions, and retailer limitations can create significant unexpected challenges—especially for businesses managing incentive programs. And sending a faulty reward can undo the entire program and all the work that’s gone into it.

That’s why it’s smart to work with a global gift card distributor. Find the right partner, and you’ll be able to sidestep any of the hassles usually associated with global sending.

In this article, we’ll cover how international eGift cards work, which ones are best for global rewards programs, and the simplest ways to send them to recipients anywhere in the world.

Jump to list of popular global digital gift cards 💳

At a glance: Best options for global eGift card programs

Can e-Gift cards be used internationally?

👉 A brand might be global, but that doesn’t mean every international outlet will accept their digital gift cards. Be sure to read the fine print before starting any global program. 

Google ‘international gift card,’ and you’ll find lots of listicles of so-called gift cards for international use. Be sure to read between the lines—because these lists aren’t always as accurate as they seem.

Yes, the right eGift cards can be used internationally. But it’s not so simple.

Let’s say, for example, that a gift card provider you’re assessing has Sephora gift cards (most of us do). Sephora is a popular international brand, with physical stores in many countries, ranging from Brazil to Poland, Australia to Malaysia, and beyond.

But here’s the thing: if you are in the US and sending that card to recipients in a different country, even a country that has Sephora, there’s no guarantee that your recipients will be able to claim it at their local Sephora. It might work, or it might not—and are you willing to take that gamble?

In short, you can’t reliably send a Sephora US card internationally and be sure it’s going to work for your international recipients. The country of the card issuer matters.

Of course, you’ll be able to email or text any card to whomever you like, but that doesn’t mean it’ll actually be redeemable.

That’s why it’s smart to be wary of any gift card company that simply says, ‘hey look at all these global brands in our catalog, like Ikea, Amazon, and iTunes gift cards … just buy one and start sending it abroad to whoever you like!’

💬 “There’s no shortcut to sending global gift cards. You might be able to send something like a Starbucks gift card from one country to another, and it might end up working—or it might not,” says Giftbit CCO Nat Salvione. “It’s a roll of the dice, and is that a risk you really want to take with your program?”

And not only is taking a ‘try it and see’ approach a roll of the dice. It’s a roll of the dice at the most crucial moment of your incentive program.

That’s because business incentive programs really only work if people actually enjoy their incentives. And they’re certainly not going to enjoy an eGift card that fails them at the checkout stage.

💬 “Having a reward that works ensures the recipient is happy,” says Nat. “It capstones your entire program.”

There’s also the question of whether you should send eGift cards to your recipients. Digital Amazon.com gift cards work exceptionally well for many of our clients with primarily American and Canadian recipients. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be the most popular gift card in other countries.

Of course, none of this means that you can’t use gift cards for global business programs, like for employee rewards or sales incentives.

But it does mean you’ll need to be smarter about which cards you send, and how you send them.

At a glance: what can go wrong with unreliable global gift card delivery